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Syria
The flag of Syria consists of three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, colors associated with the Arab Liberation flag; two small, green, five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centred in the white band. The flag of Syria is the same as the former flag of the United Arab Republic where the two stars represented the constituent states of Syria and Egypt. It is similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, Iraq, which has an Arabic inscription centred in the white band, and that of Egypt, which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centred in the white band.[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/flags/sy-flag.html Flag of Syria at Flags of the World] Symbolism The colours of the flag are traditional Pan-Arab colours, also seen on the flags of Yemen, Egypt, Sudan, and Iraq. Red symbolizes the struggle and sacrifice for freedom; white signifies peace; and black stands for the dark colonial past.[http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/sy.html Syria at Flags of the World] The two stars signify that Syria was the second member of the United Arab Republic. History In 1917 Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī, king of the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia), adopted the Arab Revolt Flag, intended to represent all Arab lands. It consisted of three horizontal stripes of black, green, and white with a red triangle at the hoist. The four colours recalled the major dynasties of Arab history—the ʿAbbāsids, Fāṭimids, Umayyads, and Hāshimites. In March 1918 the Arab Revolt Flag was raised in Damascus as independence was proclaimed for "natural Syria" (modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan). The single white star on the triangle marked it as the first independent Arab state after the Hejaz. Within four months, however, France had taken control of Syria, and the Arab Revolt Flag was subsequently used only in guerrilla warfare against French authorities. Small Syrian states were established in the 1920s and '30s by the French as part of a "divide and conquer" policy. Eventually a unified Syrian state was proclaimed under a flag of horizontal green-white-black stripes bearing three red stars in the centre. Following complete independence in the 1940s, Syria continued to struggle for Arab unity, and in 1958 it joined Egypt in the United Arab Republic. Its flag, based on the Arab Liberation Flag of the Egyptian 1952 revolution, had horizontal stripes of red-white-black with two green stars for the constituent states. In 1961 Syria broke from the union. In subsequent years it had two different flags expressing the political policies of the era. Finally, on March 29, 1980, Syria re-adopted the flag of the United Arab Republic as its own national banner. This is still the national flag, although the ruling Baʿth Party also displays a version of the Arab Revolt Flag.Syria, flag of. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 09, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Image:Syria, Kingdom 1920.svg|Kingdom of Syria, 1920 Image:Syria, Mandate 1920.svg|Mandate of Syria, 1920-1922 Image:Syria 1922.svg|Syrian Federation and State of Syria, 1922-1932 Image:Syria 1932.svg|Syrian Republic, 1932-1958 Image:Syria.svg|United Arab Republic, 1958-1961 Image:Syria 1932.svg|Syrian Arab Republic, 1961-1963 Image:Syria 1963.svg|Syrian Arab Republic, 1963-1971 Image:Syria 1972.svg|Syrian Arab Republic in the Federation of Arab Republics, 1972-1980 Image:Syria.svg|Syrian Arab Republic, since 1980 References Category:Syria Category:Pan-Arab colours Category:Five-pointed stars